James Ramey
Regardless of what my employees think, I actually have a fairly stressful job. The weight of the world, and what not, resting on my shoulders each and every day. On top of that, I’m getting older (not necessarily wiser), am raising a nine year old daughter (she’s going on 15), and have three dogs (furry little children) all of which hinders my ability to manage said stress. It’s the getting older part that’s really bothering me.
When I was a younger lad, I could easily take out my frustrations on any number of video games: Doom, Duke Nukem, and Quake to name a few. BUT NOW… I find that I’m not ‘Call of Duty’ material. That I can’t ‘Fallout’. And I’m certainly not made of ‘Metal Gear’. In fact, I’m finding fewer and fewer and fewer games I can reasonably play well anymore. Some of this is due to ‘middle age’ (I am 44). Some of this is due to growing responsibilities (supporting a family on less and less free time). And some of this is due to these games just not being on the Mac platform. I was just about to give up when I found World of Warships...
Apparently if you put me on a boat in the middle of an ocean with HUGE GUNS, I’m a freaking Admiral!!! Not only do I find skimming across the water incredibly relaxing, but I am almost unstoppable in my German Cruiser. I had no idea that I would enjoy this game so much AND be able to play it on my Mac. And if you look at my statistics (all earned while playing on a Mac), I think you’ll see that my MacBook Pro is holding its own with all the other hardware ‘gaming’ systems out there on the ocean.
If you haven’t played World of Warships on your Mac, you should try it. The game mechanics are straight forward, the objectives clear, the graphics incredibly realistic, the game play is fast and furious, and it’s a lot of fun. Every time I start a new sea battle, I get this calming, relaxing, feeling that comes from being on a boat out in the middle of a lake or bay. You hear the birds chirp, the waves slap the side of the boat, and you can feel the breeze blow through your hair as you slowly advance your boat into battle. AND ONCE YOU GET INTO BATTLE, it’s all guns and shells and the aiming of turrets and the positioning of your boat. It’s the timing of firing a shell at a moving battleship that’s 8 kilometers away and watch it forcefully impact your opponent’s deck. It’s avoiding torpedoes dropped in the water and screaming by your hull on their way to impacting some other target. It’s everything I remember enjoying about the games I was playing BEFORE responsibilities took hold of my life. Honestly, I think this game has even lowered my high blood pressure as it’s giving me an enjoyable outlet for my stress. Maybe you just need a day out on a boat…
I’m a fan of what Wargaming has done with this game. I LOVE that I can play it on my Mac, and I LOVE that there’s no ‘Windows hardware’ penalty for doing so. I LOVE that this game is a great blend of action and strategy allowing me to rule the high seas from the comfort of my office desk. AND I think I am most appreciative that I found a new game that’s fun and doesn’t make me play it 200 times every day to get good enough to be sufficiently competitive. Sucks getting old…
About James B. Ramey
James B. Ramey is the CEO of CodeWeavers. His life long love of video gaming started at the tender age of six with an Atari 2600 and evolved over time to include Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Apple Mac IIc, Windows PC, and MacBook Pro. When not fiddling with technology, James enjoys cooking, travel, debating politics in the office, and spending time with his wife, daughter, and their two rescue dogs. For the past 20 years, James has worked with clients around the world in best implementing technology to maximize a return on their investment. He is a graduate of Moorhead State University and earned his MBA from the University of Phoenix. You can find James on Twitter at @jbramey.